Upcoming show - Deafheaven, Bosse-de-Nage, Mortal Bodies, & Cloak, 3/1/2015

Deafheaven, Bosse-de-Nage, Mortal Bodies, and Cloak
Sunday, March 1st at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco
7:00PM / 8:00 Show
$16 Advance - $18 Door - All Ages

I'll be playing violin on a couple tracks for Bosse-de-Nage. This event is part of the Noise Pop festival, which is always a lot of fun -- sure to sell out!

Vintage woodtype used for digital typography

A few weeks ago, I came across an intriguing image that I wanted to use for a flyer for an upcoming live music event. The image is from a rare book, and I wanted to retain that hand-printed-ink-on-aged-paper look with the typography. At first I started to isolate the letters from around that same page and copy/paste them to form words, but soon decided I didn't like the serif typeface. After some pondering on how best to execute my plans, I contacted my friend Katherine Case, the poet and letterpress artist whom I used to intern for when she lived in the bay area. Katherine now has her own studio in Reno, Meridian Press, where she prints beautiful custom letterpress books and broadsides.

Within just a couple weeks of our conversation, I received a lovely stamp-covered tube in the mail. Katherine had hand-set both large woodtype and 72 point Helvetica, and had even printed it in teal (my favorite color) so that I could put them up on my wall afterward. Fantastic!

I then digitized the posters, creating high-resolution tiffs, and isolated the letters so that I could use them later in my digital projects. Huge thanks to Katherine! I plan to put them to good use, though I promise that I will eventually get myself back into the letterpress studio too.

  Shown here are the poster, and resulting digital type.


Additionally, I think this video does a nice job of demonstrating the feeling and atmosphere of a letterpress studio.

Newly acquired additions

Newly acquired: a lovely viola ("Sir Vile," as he shall now be called) and an Arena Reverb Pedal. Can't wait to make some dark, dreamy, moody, creepy, ethereal sounds...

I have wanted to play the viola as long as I can remember. I love the deep tones and sorrowful, sweet sound. I had played a friend's viola once before, many years ago, and now realize that it must have been a smaller instrument, because the one that I now have is quite a bit larger and more cumbersome. I'm having to stretch my fingers at much larger intervals than what I'm used to on the violin, and applying a little bit more pressure. It feels so heavy, too! But all for the love of that low C-string...so many more string-arragement possibilities! I worked my way through some beginning books, to wrap my head around the alto clef, as each string that I'm used to on the violin now has a different meaning in the notation. But it's great fun experimenting, and I can't wait to try out some songs, and start writing.



Here's a few tracks that I learned feature the viola:
The Cure – Namata, To Wish Impossible Things
The Velvet Underground – Venus in Furs, Heroin, Sunday Morning
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Albert Goes West
Gary Numan – Complex, M.E., The Joy Circuit, Cold Warning
The Rentals – Friends of P.

As for buying the reverb pedal; it's something I've been hunting for ever since I started playing live -- previously I'd been using a digital multi-effects pedal, but have had the unfortunate experience of having to fumble with it in front of an audience, when the settings inevitably go off for some unknown reason. Much screeching and feedback usually ensued. I wanted a simple setup that I can be confident will provide a nice sound with limited noodling. I tried a few different ones in the store, but the Arena Reverb Pedal (see demo video below) had some really nice sounds, while still providing enough options that I'll be able to do some customization for the effect I want, and can adjust for each venue or recording setup. Now I guess I finally need to set up a little pedal board, to keep everything in order! (That's probably secretly why I wanted another pedal...to push me over the edge...!)

 More experimenting to come.

Mysterious things happening in the studio

String arrangments

Coming up with parts that take longer to transcribe than they did to write.

Usually I'll just draw some little squiggles that only I can interpret, but if the parts are really complex I feel better writing them out in notation. Whatever the choice, I just have to be able to remember them when it come time to play! 

Not shown: the ten gallons of coffee that go along with this process. 

Vintage botanical print save the dates for Doris and Jonathan

Doris and Jonathan share a love of gardening and cooking, and they bought this lovely vintage botanical print on a trip to the wine country they took recently. We used a detail from the print, and one of their sweet engagement shots, for a design that I think really captures their elegant but playful style in a charming way. I'm quite sure it will be an especially delicious reception!

Wishing you all the best, and sincere congratulations, guys!

Project in the works - etching on plexiglass

Sneak peak of a project that I've been working on, involving etching on plexiglass. The final ones will be a series, considering options for display...plexiglass is much heavier than paper!